Gaming Nerds: A Tale of Intrigue, War, and Maki Being Useless
by LordByronMudkippington
Summary: In the world of SunFall, Nishikino Maki is as close to a God as one can be, known and revered throughout the lands. In reality though, she's just a university student who is forced to deal with classes, annoying roommates, and maybe a pretty big crush. A Gaming Nerds AU created by Banana-Moon-Moon and myself.
1. Tomato Log I: Crush

**Author's Note:** So, I wanted to introduce this new AU that I and banana-moon-moon have been discussing for a little bit. In this AU, Maki and Hanayo are both big gamers, playing together in an MMO. It's going to be MakiPana-centric. Banana also has some great artwork for this (they drew the cover for this that I couldn't crop in well), so you should check that out too!

* * *

 **Tomato Log I: Crush**

They waited at the door, ten of the best warriors that the Lonely Heaven clan had within their ranks. As strong as they all were, two stood out above the rest. Standing in front of the group, ready to lead them into this battle, was a beast tamer/tank of impressive strength and fortitude, a battle-scarred and angry-looking panther by her side. Right behind her was a cleric/mage, her cloak fluttering gently in the wind. A winged rod, her trusty and expensive Seraph Staff, was held tightly in her hand.

"We all ready?" The cleric asked, and her call was answered with eight resounding positives. Only the beast tamer remained silent, bringing a slight grin to the cleric's face. The beast tamer didn't say much, but she didn't have to: her strength was known throughout every land, as were the cleric's own healing powers, enhanced and imbued with the strongest magics. Together, the two of them were well-known and well-respected as extremely powerful warriors. The only thing they couldn't do was make time go faster...

* * *

Tapping her fingers impatiently against her mouse, Maki stared at her computer screen intently, as if her glare could force the event unfolding to happen faster. Alas, that was not a power she had. For the fifth time she clicked through her inventory, then her powers, making sure each one was still assigned to the correct hotkey. They were. Unable to suppress a sigh, she felt her lips curve into a pout when a soft giggle reached her ears.

"Hanayooo," she whined, only earning herself another giggle.

"Sorry Maki-chan." On the other end of their Skype call, Hanayo was no doubt smiling, though Maki wasn't able to see it. There was no room for distractions when they were on a raid of this magnitude. "It's just that you've been sighing since we got here."

"I can't help it. I just want the damn thing to start." They had been waiting for what seemed like forever, though Hanayo was quick to remind her that it had only been ten minutes. Still, there was only so many times one could check to make sure everything was still in order before boredom set in.

Suddenly, the large castle door began to creak open slowly, and both Maki and Hanayo found themselves holding their breath as a bright light flooded from beneath the opening, and a loud, strangled cry echoed in their headphones. Eight other people surrounded them, and likely they were all equally excited, but as far as Maki was concerned, it was just her and Hanayo, ready to take on the biggest and baddest beasts the land had to offer.

As the door finally opened up completely, they charged in, battle weapons drawn. The battle with the almighty Ra-Akh had begun.

* * *

 _Welcome to the incredible world of SunFall! In this Juneau award-winning MMORPG, take on quests of various natures, explore breathtaking locations, and fight beasts of incredible strength! Train a variety of skills and improve your character, as weakness will surely mean death. Remember to check out the newest major high-level update, 'The Sky's No Limit', and join your friends in order to do battle with the almighty Ra-Akh! Join now for only_ ¥ _1172.38 a month!_

SunFall was not Nishikino Maki's hobby. SunFall was Nishikino Maki's _passion_. She had been playing, and at times fanatically addicted to, the game for six years. To her at least, it was a passion. To her roommates, it was an unhealthy obsession. To her parents, it was just a phase. _'Yeah, sure, a phase,'_ she would always think with some degree of amusement. She was just lucky her parents continued to pay for her membership, or she might actually have to get a job, and that would definitely mean less time spent playing. University was already cutting into her time as it was, especially with her degree. Medicine was not something one could just breeze through.

It was incredible that she had kept her grades so high all these years while simultaneously being dedicated to a game like it was a career, but Maki was a girl of rather impressive intellect. There were always skills that could be afk'ed while she worked on homework, and if her university was going to be foolish enough to allow students to bring their laptops to class, then of course she was going to end up logged on. She could multitask.

After years of playing, she was prouder of her powerful, extremely high-leveled character than most of her real life accomplishments, though she kept that fact to herself. Most people she knew already considered her weird: that fact certainly would only strengthen their cases. However, even as high-leveled and well-tenured as she was, this particular boss fight was still very difficult. It was for only the strongest players, after all.

Hiding behind a pillar to avoid Ra-Akh's devastating Sun Drench attack, Maki queued up her Vampyrium Ultimate, trying to steady her shaking hand. Quickly she moved her hand and pushed her glasses up, rubbing her exhausted eyes before putting all of her concentration back on the game. A mixture of coffee and energy drinks did wonders for keeping her awake, and at that point in time she had been awake for nearly 26 hours straight.

As a doctor in training, the logical part of her brain knew that staying up until there were near-permanent black circles under her eyes every week wasn't healthy, but there were things she needed to do. There were classes to attend, papers to write, and gaming to do, not to mention that on occasion her roommates would force her to interact with people that weren't wearing max-leveled armor. Sleep was for the weak.

"Hanayo, head in. I've got my Ultimate queued."

"Got it!" Maki watched as Hanayo rushed out from her own pillar and charged into battle. Following right after her, the redhead activated her Ultimate, sending a large, sickly-green square out into the area. It shrouded the boss and the surrounding area, allowing the rest of their raid group to huddle in and get some much-needed healing. They had it now. A faint smirk crossed Maki's face as she watched Hanayo leap up into the air, her heavy battleaxe smashing down upon Ra-Akh. Glancing up at the top of the screen, she waited with bated breath as its health bar fell to zero, the mighty beast falling with a final, anguished roar.

"Yes!" Maki pumped her fist in triumph, hearing Hanayo's squeak of elated surprise in her ears. Looking at the time, she was shocked to find that two hours had passed since the battle began. She was so sure it would take three, maybe even four hours. Then again, this was the strongest team they had gotten together yet. "That boss was nothing!"

"Jesus Christ, Maki, shut up!" Maki cringed as the loud, high-pitched voice of her roommate cut through her headphones. Sulking, she huffed and crossed her arms, but quieted down all the same. Her obnoxious roommate could belt out her terrible karaoke tunes as loud as she wanted, but a single shout of jubilation called for instant chastisement. It was only 2 AM, jeez.

"That was great, Hanayo," Maki mentioned a bit more quietly, after the two of them had teleported out and regrouped at the closest bank to put away their loot. Now that they didn't have to concentrate on the boss, they were able to turn on their webcams and actually see each other. "You were awesome!"

"Th-Thank you, Maki-chan." A blush crossed Hanayo's cheeks at the compliment, illuminated by the lamp on her desk. All the other lights must have been turned off hours ago. A thought concerning how cute her reddened cheeks were passed idly through Maki's mind. "Y-You were really good too."

Maki shrugged slightly. "It was nothing special. No boss can handle me. ... H-Hey, don't laugh at me!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Maki pouted anyway, deliberately turning away. "I didn't think we'd finish so soon, though. At least I can get some sleep before class now."

"Oh, you're going to bed?" She turned back around, unable to hide the disappointment in her voice. So maybe it was the middle of the night, on a Tuesday, but she wasn't even tired yet. Okay, she was exhausted, but that didn't mean she wanted Hanayo to go, though she knew it was selfish of her to keep her friend up any later. Hanayo must have noticed the change in her voice though, giving her a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, I don't want to fall asleep in class again." Hanayo's smile turned sheepish as she waved to Maki. "You should get some sleep too."

"Y-Yeah..." Maki lifted her hand and waved back half-heartedly. It was a good idea to go to bed, but she was already planning on staying up a bit longer to figure out what to do with her new loot. Doing those things was a lot more fun with Hanayo.

"Goodnight Maki-chan."

"Night Hanayo." The call went dead, and Maki found herself still staring at the screen, longingly pretending that Hanayo's face was still there, smiling at her. It had only just ended, but she already missed her, as irrational as that was. With a sigh, one that was not followed by a knowing laugh, Maki placed her chin in her hand and frowned at the screen.

It wasn't that missing Hanayo was something new to her. She was Maki's best friend, so of course she was going to miss her. Lately though, it had felt more intense, like her being not there brought pain to Maki's chest. Whenever her mind wasn't filled with SunFall or school, Hanayo always seemed to find a way into her thoughts more and more, sometimes concurrently with those other thoughts. Try as she might to come up with another explanation, only one truth always came back.

Groaning, Maki shook her head slightly, clicking back to find that she had idled out of the game. God, she really, really hoped that she wasn't crushing hard on a girl who lived far away.


	2. Tomato Log II: The Silent One

**Tomato Log II: The Silent One**

Maki stared at herself in the mirror, grimacing at the sight she saw. Grabbing a wet wipe, she quickly began removing her lipstick, turning her lips back from an ugly black to its normal state. The 'way too much' amount of eyeliner went next, allowing her to look somewhat normal for once. Maybe going for the whole 'gothic' look wasn't the best idea.

When high school had begun, she wanted to try a different look, something that would give her a unique style while simultaneously keeping her classmates at a distance. In hindsight, wearing all-black makeup was probably not the way to go. It had fulfilled her requirements, but she had definitely heard a few students laughing at her when she passed. Running a hand through her hair, she sighed deeply at the black tips staining her bangs. Why the hell had she done this to her hair?

Shaking her head in shame, Maki shambled out of the bathroom and back to her desk, slumping into her chair and booting up SunFall. She was going to have to wash out her bangs later, but for now she might as well get some gaming in. Maybe before bed she could finish off the Legend-level quest she'd been doing in the magical region of Azarath.

There wasn't much in her life for her to do. School was something she just breezed through, so that left her time split between practicing the piano, interning at her family's hospital, and playing SunFall. She wondered if her parents realized that, after nearly three years of playing, it wasn't quite the 'phase' they believed it to be. Playing three to eight hours a day, every day straddled the line between 'phase' and 'job'.

Friends were hard to come by due to her standoffish nature, and by this point she had given up on ever having one. The only person even close to being her 'friend' was an older blonde girl named Ayase Eli. Their parents were acquaintances due to business, therefore making their children acquaintances by default. However, Maki didn't really feel a connection to Eli. Their interests were different, and they didn't live close enough to see each other that often.

That just left her to make friends online, which was a bit easier. She didn't have to ask them how their day went, or go out for lunch, or even smile. It was perfect. Unfortunately, even those were in short supply since she got kicked out of the clan she had been in for nearly a year. It was hard not to argue with their incompetent leader when they kept failing them consistently on raids.

"It's not fair," she sulked to her archer friend, who went by the handle _Robin Goode_. "I would be a much better leader." The region of Azarath was a dark place, but Maki was at a point where she was strong enough to handle just about anything the game had to offer. A murder of crows flew overhead, cawing ominously in her headphones, but still she pressed on, heading down into the deepest abyss where the most loathsome demons roamed.

"You said they were a twelve-year-old loser," her friend remarked, getting Maki to scowl.

"Well they are." After that she detached herself from the conversation, concentrating solely on blasting hellions with her water magic. As a cleric of her impressive stature though, she really needed something better for her combat purposes. Once this quest was done, she would work on getting enough money to afford the Seraph Staff.

Making her way deeper through the chambers of the Demon Pits, she came to a halt next to the intimidating Devil's Door, where the toughest boss in the game lurked. To her surprise, she found someone soloing the beast, a task that very few could accomplish successfully. Peering inside, Maki felt her breath catch in her throat. "No way..."

 _Oryza_ : not a beast tamer, but _the_ beast tamer. The number one-ranked player on the Faction Wars leaderboard. Someone so powerful and well-known that there were actual, honest-to-God myths surrounding them. Maki had, within a one week span, heard that _Oryza_ was a bot, an American, a celebrity, the emperor, and even dead. Well, that last one could be disproved, at least.. unless it was an account run by multiple people, like multiple person claimed. Whoever they were, they were SunFall's resident legend, and now Maki was watching them battle with her own eyes.

The beast inside was eventually slaughtered, and Maki stood there and watched in awe, at least until the almighty beast tamer picked up their loot and walked out, only to find themselves face to face with an admiring cleric. She wondered if she should say something or just leave. There weren't many opportunities to see _the_ beast tamer though, especially when there was no one else around.

"Impressive." Well, it was... something. They didn't say anything in return, though it wasn't like she was expecting one. _Oryza_ was known for being silent: one of her clanmates had postulated that they had been muted many years ago for railing against the system, or something stupid like that. People came up with some crazy theories. "I can do better though."

Oh damnation. That was _not_ what she meant to type. She wondered if whoever _Oryza_ really was had a look of disbelief on their face. Maybe they had already started laughing at her. She knew for a fact that a blush was quickly creeping up on her cheeks, though there was obviously no chance anyone could see that. Surprisingly, this actually got a response: "Really?"

Oh no. "Absolutely." _Oh no_. What was she saying? She wasn't ready for this boss, especially not solo. The best thing to do would've been to back away from the challenge - a challenge that she had put up, with no other input - but Maki's stubborn side kicked in. Without another word, she stepped into the room and waited for the boss to respawn.

She was high-leveled, but not enough for this boss. Though she was able to deal some amount of damage, she was quickly being overwhelmed, and the beast was doing more damage than her healing spells could regenerate. So this was how she died: like an idiot. As she fought in vain, her eyes widened as she saw _Oryza_ enter and charge the beast.

Having another player helping made the battle a lot easier, especially considering just who that person was. Still, Maki was beyond embarrassed when it was over. That had been an utter disaster, and all because she couldn't shut her mouth. Well...shut her fingers, but that sounded really weird. "I could've done that on my own." Still not shutting up.

"Maybe. You're not a bad cleric." Wait, what? They weren't making fun of her, or annoyed for having their time wasted? She surely would've been aggravated had this happened to her. "Interested in joining a clan?"

Maki's hand froze on her mouse, her jaw dropping. Was this a joke, or was the most famous player in the entire game inviting _her_ to join their clan? She had to force her muscles to start moving so that she didn't continue to sit there like a moron until the sun went down. "Yes." It was a simple-enough answer, but on the inside she was screaming. This was not how she had expected this day to go.

"Make sure you have your private chat on." Then they teleported off, leaving Maki to stare blankly for a moment before fumbling to get her chat off of 'friends'. It wasn't long before she got a message: "The clan name is Lonely Heaven." This had became a rather incredible day.

* * *

Maki hovered the mouse over the call button, eyeing it nervously. It had been just over a year since she joined the Lonely Heaven clan, and somehow she had gone from making a complete ass of herself in front of _the Oryza_ to becoming good friends with her. Apparently, they were good enough friends that they both had ended up adding each other on Skype, and now they were prepared to see each others' faces for the first time. Admittedly, she was incredibly nervous.

She had never shown herself to anyone online, and she was sure that her parents would not approve of this at all. It was something she was somewhat okay with though, nervous as she was. Somehow _Oryza_ , or as she eventually came to know her as, Hanayo, had turned into something she had no experience with: a friend. Tugging nervously on the her collar, she clicked the button.

As a ringing sound echoed in her headphones, she stared at the screen, wondering if she was more worried about Hanayo answering the call or ignoring it. They both came with some drawbacks: having the call answered would reveal her awkwardness around other people, but being ignored would more than likely be a bad hit to her self-esteem. Maybe she should've just hid under her bed instead.

After three rings, the call was answered, and her screen was filled with... huh, a cute girl. A really cute girl. Considering all the mythology and legend behind the master beast tamer, Maki had admittedly been expecting someone more intimidating. Instead, she was face to face with a visibly nervous-looking brunette, eyes of a similar purple to hers visible once she pushed her bangs out of the way. The smile she gave Maki showed off the nervousness she was feeling internally, and she capped it off with a shy wave.

"M-Maki-chan?" She realized that she had been sitting there and staring silently since they started the call, so she said the first thing that came to her head.

"I thought you would look a lot more intimidating." Hiding under the bed would've been a preferable activity to once again making an ass of herself. Hanayo seemed surprised at her words, causing Maki to slowly rest her head in her hands. "That's... not at all what I meant to say."

"W-Well, that's okay. I understand." Maki looked up to find Hanayo still smiling despite all. "I'm not quite a beast tamer in real life." That was sensible. Maki was just being weird.

"I know, I just... Sorry," she muttered quietly, not really having a good excuse for being rude. Maybe she wasn't an actual intimidating beast tamer, but at least Hanayo could interact with other people. Maki didn't have a clue how to. They both lapsed into silence, neither one of them sure how to proceed. "I'm not very... good at this," Maki finally muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"I, uh... I don't really get to practice talking to a lot of people." This was just as embarrassing. Someone save her from this hell.

"I-I don't either."

"R-Really?" Maki started, eyeing Hanayo with some degree of confusion. "You're famous, though!"

"In SunFall." Hanayo grinned sheepishly, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "Th-That doesn't really make you many friends in real life."

"Oh right..." How quickly Maki forgot, considering her own addiction to the game and severe lack of social life. At least it was something they had in common, sad though it may be. "Well... at least we're both losers." Despite that being at best a backhanded insult to the both of them, it got Hanayo to laugh, and even Maki cracked a smile.

After that, Maki felt more comfortable talking to Hanayo, and they already had one thing they could talk about: SunFall. That one topic could take up hours of time, especially if they ended up playing while talking about it. Maybe it was the fact that they had already been talking for over a year in the game, but despite it being the first time she'd been face to face - relatively speaking - with Hanayo, Maki already felt more at ease with her than she did with anyone she'd ever met before.

They had been talking for just over two hours when a knock at her door startled Maki. "Maki dear, you've been in your room all day!" Oh jeez...

"I-I know!" She called back, hoping that would be the end of it. It wasn't.

"You need to spend some time outside. Your muscles are going to atrophy."

"J-Just a few more minutes!"

"Now, Maki!"

"Mamaaaa! ... Fine, fine!" Grumbling to herself, Maki turned back to the computer and quickly remembered... "Y-You heard all of that, didn't you?" Hanayo tried to deny it, but her stifled laughter gave her away. Maki pouted and crossed her arms, sticking out her tongue slightly. "I guess I have to go." Her pout curled down into a frown: she didn't want to go. Not that she had a choice, but still...

"O-Oh, well, have fun, Maki-chan. I don't want you get in trouble."

"Eh, they'll probably forget by tomorrow," she shrugged dismissively, waving to Hanayo. "I'll see you later?"

"O-Okay! Bye, Maki-chan!"

"Bye Hanayo." The call went dead, and with a sigh Maki pulled off her headphones and ran a hand through her hair. Now that she had more access to a friend, a serious, real friend, she was going to have to deal with being away from them. Standing up, she resumed grumbling as she headed for the door. She missed Hanayo already.


	3. Tomato Log III: Troublesome Roommates

It wasn't a new development that Maki was tired. Her own personal schedule kept her up at all hours of the night, which meant that she needed regular doses of caffeine. Coffee, energy drinks: it didn't matter, as long as she got her fix. That meant she was in the kitchen on a Saturday, sipping on a cup of black coffee at noon.

At that moment, her roommates decided to make simultaneous entrances. On one side, Ayase Eli entered through the front door, fresh from her morning dance class. On the other was Yazawa Nico, the obnoxious karaoke-belting roommate who had clearly just woken up from her 'beauty' sleep. The two of them decided to congregate together in the kitchen, though Maki hadn't exactly asked for the company.

"Ah good, you're both awake," Eli clapped cheerfully, hoisting her bag up on her shoulder. "I need to take a shower, but how about we all go out for lunch afterwards? I'm famished." She looked at her two roommates for agreement. Nico nodded and stifled a big yawn, but Maki hesitated.

"Well, I was actually going to see if Ha-"

"Yeah, we're all good to go," Nico butted in, making Maki frown deeply. "Go take your shower already." Eli raised an eyebrow, but ended up just shrugging and heading towards her room to drop her bag off. Once she was out of sight, Maki turned on Nico.

"What the hell, Nico? I didn't agree to go out to lunch!"

"Your previous plans are overruled." Nico crossed her arms, a slight smirk on her face. "You spend way too much time in your room talking to that invisible girlfriend of yours. There's a real world out there, Maki."

"She is _not_ invisible! A-And she's not my girlfriend!" Maki sputtered indignantly, having to keep herself in check to avoid crushing the still-filled cup in her hand. "You don't get to make decisions for me. You're not my mother."

"I might as well be, considering how much of a baby you are." A great argument ensued, and when Eli came out from her shower clean and ready to eat, she found her two roommates glaring at each other, Nico's hair and face wet with a crushed coffee cup on the floor.

"Nico, Maki, what-"

"I need a shower," Nico growled, pushing past Eli and heading for her room. Eli turned to Maki for an explanation, but she just crossed her arms and refused to oblige. It was definitely going to be one of those days.

* * *

It wasn't that Maki disliked her roommates. At times she even considered them friends, and she certainly was appreciative of the ability to room with someone she actually knew, but as a long-time loner, it was pretty easy for them to get on her nerves. Especially when there was a clear conspiracy going on to keep her from Hanayo.

She had known Eli - or more often than not knew _of_ Eli - since childhood, due to their parents' mutual acquaintanceship. However, they never really hung out or spoke to one another due to not really having anything in common. That part of their existence had already been established. However, when it was time for Maki to head to university, the thought of being forced to room with some stranger made her anxiety flare up. That's when Eli came back into the picture.

Eli suggested that Maki come room with her, and she jumped at the chance. Though it would've been preferable to room alone, this was likely the next best thing. It was only when she reached her new place of residence that she realized something was off: there were three rooms for only two people. It turned out that Eli had neglected to tell her that there was another roommate she'd be living with. That roommate was Nico.

If Eli was calm and a bit eccentric, Nico was wild and frustrating. They had their first argument within the first twenty-four hour period they spent together, and it didn't get much better from there. Maki couldn't stand all that ego packed into such a tiny body, and it was obvious that the feeling was mutual, so they just resolved to dislike each other. Eli tried to be a peacekeeper, since their arguing tended to leave her as the one cleaning up the mess.

So no, Maki was not at all happy to be going to lunch with her roommates. Though she appreciated the offer, she had wanted to spend her Saturday talking with Hanayo. That made her happy: listening to Nico blabber on about shallow, talentless pop singers didn't. At present, she was sitting at a table, head in her hand, eyes half-lidded as she listened to Nico explain to Eli - again - that only on her birthday was she allowed to eat chocolate for an entire meal.

"So, Maki, how is Hanayo?" Maki blinked and turned to Eli, who in all likelihood had only brought up Hanayo to draw her into the conversation. Next to her, Nico rolled her eyes, but Maki tried her best to ignore it.

"She's doing fine. We're probably going to do another run on Ra-Akh again next week, and-"

"Yaaaawn." Maki's mouth fell open slightly, staring at Nico with increasingly-annoyed eyes.

"Did you just... _say_ 'yawn'?"

"Well, your nerd game talk was boring me, so naturally I yawned." Nico's tone was dismissive, and it irritated Maki further. Before she could say - or do - anything, Eli stood up and tried once again to bring peace to the two warring parties.

"Settle down you two. Nico, why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Deliberately antagonize Maki. There's nothing wrong with... Moonrise."

"SunFall," Maki corrected dryly.

"It's all she ever talks about! There's more to life than sitting at your computer and talking to dudes pretending to be girls online all day."

"But Maki's a girl and she's online."

"The exception that proves the rule!" By that point, Maki was forced to hide her hands beneath the table, as they had curled into fists and were shaking violently. Suddenly, she pushed her chair back and stood up, attracting the attention of her roommates.

"Maki wait, Nico didn't mean it," Eli quickly spouted, ignoring the look she got from Nico. "Don't leave."

"I'm just going to the bathroom. Don't have a heart attack." Rolling her eyes, Maki made her exit for the table, and true to her word, she entered the bathroom. Once she was alone inside a stall, she covered her eyes with an arm, pressing down to try and keep herself under control. Unfortunately, this tactic failed, and her legs shook slightly as she started to cry into the sleeve of her jacket.

It hurt more than she cared to admit when others referred to her online friends as invisible or fake. Nothing hurt quite like Nico saying that Hanayo wasn't real. She was real, and Maki knew that she was real. Why did others have to be so infuriatingly insistent that the bonds she created online were fake? She was so tired of Nico.

When she returned to the table, Nico asked why her jacket was wet. "I splashed water on it accidentally while washing my hands."

"Heh," Nico chuckled, spearing a piece of her meal with a fork. "Clumsy much?"

"Haha, yeah..." Maki sighed quietly and looked down at her food distastefully. She wasn't hungry anymore.

* * *

The moment they got home, Maki raced into her room, ignoring the whispered words of her roommates as she locked the door and hurried online. Now that the awfulness of socializing was over, she could do what she actually wanted to do: talk to Hanayo.

Quickly she logged onto Skype, but through the list of those who were online, Hanayo wasn't one of them. Frowning slightly, Maki merely shrugged and went to log into SunFall. There was a better chance that Hanayo was on there anyway. However, when she got online, _Oryza_ was offline.

With a sigh, Maki slumped against her keyboard, peering dully at her screen. No matter how hard she concentrated, Hanayo didn't get online. Maybe she had schoolwork to do, or her internet was out. That was probably it. That didn't change the fact that she would have to spend the rest of the day alone, at least until Hanayo got online.

She logged out of the game and pressed her face hard against the sleeves of her jacket. This was the worst thing about having all her friends, especially her best friend, so many miles away: she didn't know what to do with herself when they weren't online. She still got to talk to Hanayo plenty of times during the week, but it just wasn't enough. Why couldn't she be online now?


	4. Tomato Log IV: Catnapper

Something wasn't right. Three weeks had passed and Hanayo wasn't getting online as often anymore. Sure, they would still get to talk, but it wasn't enough for Maki's liking. Something was keeping her away, but she didn't know what. Worse, she was too nervous to ask what it was.

Life was proceeding like normal, but she couldn't get that niggling feeling of worry out of her head. She desperately wanted to ask what was going on, but she didn't want Hanayo to take it the wrong way. What if it wasn't an appropriate question and she got mad? Maki couldn't risk losing her best friend, so she kept silent about it.

One day, when the two of them were chatting on Skype, Maki finally got a clue about what was going on. They had been talking about SunFall - with no mention of her worries - when there was a knock on the door.

"Oh! L-Let me get that." Hanayo jumped up like a shot, racing out of sight and leaving Maki sitting there in confusion. Straining her ears, she could hear muttered voices, but no words could be made out. Maybe it was Hanayo's RA or something, a theory that seemed to hold some water when Hanayo returned. However...

"I-I'm sorry, Maki-chan. My friend was at the door, a-and they wanted to go get dinner, so I-" Before she could finish that sentence, someone came into the room, walking into Maki's sight. She hadn't heard anything about Hanayo having another friend: a real life one, that is. Not that she wasn't allowed to have any other friends, but...

"Hey there, Maki-chan!" The other girl, this new friend, saluted her with a cat-like grin. Who was this? Maki knew of Hanayo's two roommates, but neither of them had orange hair. Of course, she'd never actually seen either of them, but from what she'd been told... Wait, one of them _did_ have orange hair. Maybe this was her, then.

"H-Hey..." Her voice was unsteady, unsure of how to proceed. "You're... Honoka, then?"

"Hm? Oh, no no, that's Kayo-chin's roommate! I'm Rin!" So there was a new friend in Hanayo's life, and she hadn't even known. Why hadn't she been told? "Ready to go to dinner, Kayo-chin?"

"Y-Yes." Hanayo gave her a shy smile before standing up, looking at Maki again. "I-I'll see you later, Maki-chan." She waved at her, and Maki had to snap herself out of a trance in order to wave back.

"O-Okay. Bye Hanayo..." Hanayo hung up right afterwards, leaving Maki to stare frozen at their chat logs. What had just happened? Had she just been blown off for some... some _other_ girl? Sure, she looked athletic, but did she have a max level cleric/mage? Hah, doubtfully.

Maki sighed and hid her face against her desk. That was the nerdiest thing she could've possibly said.

* * *

All throughout dinner, Maki moped about what had happened earlier, picking weakly at her food with a fork. She couldn't even force herself to eat: her stomach felt sick with confusion and worry. Why was she feeling this way? Was it possible that she was... jealous? The thought made her feel worse.

If she was jealous, then that would mean she had feelings for Hanayo: romantic feelings. That couldn't be, could it? She would've noticed it by now if it was that obvious. What kind of nickname was Kayo-chin anyway? Apparently they'd gotten so close that they were on nickname status. Why didn't _she_ have a cute nickname? ... _'Aw hell, I'm crushing, aren't I?'_ What a disaster.

"Uh, Maki, are you alright?" Maki dragged her head up to look at Eli, who was giving her a concerned look. "You seem down about something."

"Whatever gave you that idea?" She sighed and went back to picking at her food, wishing that she could just give up the pretense and go back to her room in order to properly mope.

"Well, you won't look at us, and you've hardly touched your food." Ahh, vintage Eli. She was a mix of fatherly concern and total denseness.

"Yeah Maki, that's pretty rude." Of course Nico would butt in. Rather than responding, Maki just scowled at her. "Eli spent all afternoon making this babushka for us."

"Uh, Nico? Babushka means grandmother."

"Oh Gods, we're eating grandmother?!" Nico dropped her fork and shoved herself away from the table, eyes wide with disgust. Eli groaned and hid her face in her hands. This was the perfect distraction for Maki to make her escape, and she was able to successfully leave the table and sneak out onto the balcony.

Outside, the stars were just beginning to shine. Maki leaned against the balcony edge and stared up at them, sighing softly. When she had been younger, she would look out of her bedroom window and try to count all the stars whenever she was feeling down. Now she'd have to do it way too often for it to be healthy. She might've actually been able to count all of them.

It wasn't long before her self-imposed exile on the balcony was interrupted. Without looking, she knew that it was Eli. Nico would never bother caring about how she was doing. "Maki, what's going on? I know something must've happened."

At first, Maki stayed silent. She wasn't even sure _what_ her deal was. Did she really want to admit things weren't going well out loud, and to one of her roommates at that? "I... I think I have a crush on Hanayo!"

Eli gawked at Maki, clearly having not been expecting words like that to come from her. "Your friend from that game you play? Uh... Sunwinter?"

"You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?"

"Doing what?"

"Never mind..." Maki groaned and rubbed her temples, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on. "Look, I think I might, _might_ have a crush on her, and now she has this new friend, and I think they might be together or something. Hanayo didn't even tell me about her, and she gave her a nickname and everything. Oh, her name's Rin, and she's kinda athletic, but I didn't think Hanayo was into that. Maybe I should exercise... But she just appeared out of nowhere, and I'm not saying I should be taking all of her time, but we haven't talked as much anymore, and I want her to think I'm important too."

When she finally stopped talking, Eli looked dizzy. "Okay, wait, you... You like Hanayo, and... you like Rin?"

"No! I hate Rin! I mean, I don't hate her, I just... do."

"Wait, who's Rin?" Like she said: concerned but dense. Maki sighed and slid down to the ground, staring at her knees. "Hey, I'm sorry, Maki. It was just a lot to take in." Eli quickly sat down next to Maki, patting her shoulder reassuringly. "So you have a crush on your online friend then?"

"Yeah... But she's probably into Rin. Ugh, I hate feeling like this." Maki buried her face in her hands, regretting everything she'd ever done. She didn't respond to Eli squeezing her shoulder, a reassuring motion that admittedly wasn't helping. To be fair to Eli, nothing was going to help.

"Well, maybe it's not too late. You should tell her how you really feel."

"Are you crazy? What if she doesn't feel the same? Nothing will be the same!" It was an awful idea. Sure, things weren't exactly going well now, but this would make it so much worse. Hanayo would surely feel awkward, and they'd never talk again.

"Do you want things to keep going the way they have been?"

"... No..."

"Then you should say something." Eli gave her a reassuring smile, standing back up. "You don't want to spend your whole life wondering what could've been." She went back into the living room, leaving Maki alone with her thoughts.

There was no doubt that she had a crush, and she was suffering because of it. Hanayo had Rin now, though. Why would she want some loser instead? If she didn't say anything though, every moment they spent together would involve silent agony. Ohh, what was she supposed to do?

Maybe Eli was right. If she remained silent, she'd never know what could've been. Why should Rin get to hog Hanayo all the time? She'd been friends with her for so much longer. Determined now, Maki bounced back onto her feet and marched to her room. This was going to happen. It was definitely going to happen.

Once she was in her room, Maki went straight for her computer, sitting down and logging into Skype. She waited with bated breath for it to load, then sighed with relief when she saw Hanayo was online. Plugging in her headphones, she hit the call button and hoped that her crush was at the computer.

"Maki-chan?" A smile was automatically brought to her face as Hanayo filled the screen. "Is everything alright?" Well, the truthful answer would be no, but she wasn't ready to say that yet.

"Uh, yeah, it's... Everything's fine." Maki gulped nervously, tugging on the hem of her shirt. Oh Gods, she couldn't say it. She had to, though! Did she? "I just... m-missed seeing you today, that's all."

"Aww, Maki-chan! I missed you too!" A light blush reached both of their cheeks, but the smile on Hanayo's face made it worth the embarrassment. "I'm sorry I haven't been on as much as before. I haven't forgotten you, though. I would never!"

Exactly what Maki had wanted to say was swept out of her brain as she tried to not go completely red. She failed. Hanayo missed her? She'd never forget her? A warm, fuzzy sensation washed over her body, and all that determination flew out the window. "Ahahah, th-thanks. I-I mean, yeah, I... Thanks."

She had been ready to say that she had a crush on Hanayo. At least, she thought she had been ready to say it. Now the desire to speak had drained away, replaced by a worrisome complacency. Maybe not saying anything about how she truly felt wasn't the end of the world. Hanayo was still there, and they could keep hanging out - online, anyway. What they had was already nice: why risk ruining it?

A niggling thought in the back of her mind tried to tell her that this was only temporary, and that it would get worse if she didn't take Eli's advice, but Maki didn't listen to it. If things were going to end up fine, why do anything too risky? It wouldn't be worth it if there was an overwhelming chance of failure.

Instead, she just talked to Hanayo about anything else for hours. It felt like how things used to be, and that was good enough for her. All her worries had been melted away. At least, for now.


	5. Tomato Log V: Flight DLC

**Tomato Log V: Flight DLC**

Despite things seeming like they were fine again, Maki still felt uneasy. Though she was getting to talk to Hanayo more, there was still the specter of Rin that put her on edge. They hung out so much: what if they were becoming more than friends? What if they were already dating and Hanayo just wasn't telling her? Why did she have to be so far away?

Her sulking was once again gaining the notice of her roommates, and they weren't shy about bringing it up. "Have you ever played Xenoblade Chronicles, Maki?" This was how Nico started up their conversation one day while the two of them were in the same area. Maki was looking for something to eat while Nico was watching TV.

"What the hell is that?"

"It's a video game. Look, Maki, there's a character in the game named Shulk, okay? I'm gonna call you Sulk. Because you're always sulking-"

"I get it." Maki, not realizing the irony, peeked out of the kitchen and sulked in Nico's direction. "What's your point?"

"My point is that you're a complete drag to be around. What's your problem anyway?" Nico looked away from the TV and smirked in Maki's direction. "Trouble with your fake girlfriend?"

"Sh-She's not fake or my girlfriend!" Maki protested, going red in the face as she retreated back into the kitchen area. It made sense that she was next to the oven, because she was heated. More than that, she was upset with Nico once again demeaning her best friend.

"So it is about her. I knew it." Nico laughed and got up from the couch, heading into the kitchen to confront Maki. "Why don't you actually do something about... whatever's bothering you instead of just moping around?"

"I don't have to take this from you." Maki frowned and folded her arms, leaning against the oven. "You're just an angry little gremlin with delusions of grandeur." That seemed to hit its mark, as Nico's face went red as she practically growled at Maki.

"You... You... You ass!" Maki scoffed at the lame insult, walking out of the kitchen and away from Nico. She had forgotten about the snack, but she wasn't really hungry anymore anyway. Before she could get to her room, she was intercepted by Eli. Apparently her roommates didn't understand what personal space was.

"Nico has a point, Maki. A rude point, but a point nonetheless."

"Were you just listening to us?"

"You two aren't very quiet with your arguments." Eli put her hands on her hips and stared Maki down. "If you're really worried about Hanayo, then you should talk to her about how you're feeling."

"I can't! It's just... weird to say that stuff on Skype." Plus it was just embarrassing in general to admit that she had real human feelings.

"Then just go see her! Gods!" Nico had returned to the conversation. "Aren't you rich as hell? Just get on your private jet and fly it over to her." That... wasn't a bad idea. Why did it have to be Nico who came up with that idea?

"I... have stuff to do," she muttered, rushing into her room and slamming the door. She tried her best to ignore Nico's laughter as she practically flung herself onto her computer chair, booting up Skype. Hopefully Hanayo would be online...

She was! Maki typed out a message, asking if they could cam for a bit. She waited with bated breath, worried that Hanayo would be busy again. Thankfully though, she wasn't, so they had time to spend together. Maki put on her headphones and started the call, smiling the moment Hanayo's face came onscreen.

"Hi Maki-chan!" Her smile quickly dropped when she noticed the worried-looking smile on Maki's face. "Is something wrong?"

"No! Well, yes. Maybe?" This seemed like such a bold thing to request, and her throat tightened at the mere thought of saying it. At the same time though, Maki really did want to see Hanayo in person. Maybe doing that would give her clarity on her feelings. "I... wanted to ask you something important."

"A-Are you quitting SunFall?"

"What? No! Never!" Now that was something she truly could never fathom doing. "I... I was wondering if you were going to be busy this weekend."

"Oh, that's a relief!" Hanayo smiled, then thought about what Maki said next. "Hmm, no, I shouldn't be. Did you want to try another raid?"

"Not exactly." Maki took a deep breath, glancing at the door as if she expected her roommates to be glued to it in anticipation. "I, uh, wanted to know if... if..." She fell silent, a blush steadily forming on her face.

"If?" Hanayo tilted her head slightly, giving Maki and confused expression. It was such a cute look that it made it even harder for Maki to respond, as she was too busy being warmed by her crush's insane amount of cuteness. "If I'm busy?"

"Well, you're not busy, right?" She'd already said that, so probably not. This was just leaving things in suspense: she needed to say something now. "A-Anyway, I wanted to come see you." There: she had said it. It was out in the open now.

"Maki-chan, you're looking at me right now, aren't you?" Hanayo smiled innocently, and Maki just wanted to slam her head on the desk. This was not meant to be, was it?

"Yes, but that's not what I meant. I... want to see you... in person." Realization dawned on Hanayo's face as her mouth fell open. "I-I think it'd be f-fun! We've never gotten to meet before, and you wouldn't have to spend any money."

"Wow, I... Y-Yeah! I'd love to see you, Maki-chan!" Hanayo's surprise turned into a smile. "I-If you really want to spend all that money just to see me-"

"Absolutely!" Maki interrupted before Hanayo could be any more self-deprecating. The amount of money she'd have to spend was more than worth it to see her, and that was the truth. "I really do want to see you this weekend, Hanayo." Any weekend, really. Any day at all.

"W-Well then, I can't wait to see you!" There was a comfortable happiness settling between them as they started to plan. "I hope you don't mind if my roommate comes with me to pick you up. I don't have my own car." That gave Maki pause, but she quickly remembered that Rin was not one Hanayo's roommates, so there shouldn't be anything wrong with that.

"That's alright. You know, you should really get a car though."

"I-I don't really go anywhere, though." Maki laughed and waved a hand dismissively. It felt really good to be able to talk like this again, like the long time friends that they were. Plus they were finally going to meet face to face. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this happy.

Now all that was left to do was to hide in her room until she had to leave so Nico wasn't able to say 'I told you so.'

* * *

The plane ride wasn't long, but Maki had been hoping to take a nap regardless. Instead she stayed up the entire time with her nerves on edge. She really was about to meet Hanayo in person for the first time. This was a big thing for her, and she didn't think she was prepared for it.

They'd been friends for so long now, and it took days and days of moping and jealousy for her to actually take this step. What if it was a mistake though? There was the positive that laying it all on the line could make all her wildest dreams come true, but at the same time there was a higher chance that she'd permanently ruin their friendship. They could probably still be friends, even if Hanayo started dating Rin, or was already dating Rin.

Okay, that was a terrible thought. It made her feel ill that her crush might be - likely was - all for naught. She didn't want to give up, though. Hanayo was just the most amazing, beautiful girl there was. There'd never be anyone else like her. _'Oh Gods, I sound like a lovestruck teenager.'_

Maki slapped her cheeks as the plane came to a stop, trying to knock out any unnecessary thoughts from her brain. If she was stressed for the entire weekend, it wouldn't leave a very good impression. She surely was overthinking all of this.

Since it was only a weekend trip, she hadn't brought much with her. Everything she had was in a bag she slung over her shoulder and carried off of the plane. Walking with the rest of her first class passengers, she tried her best to think of anything else but the daunting task she had ahead.

She could think about SunFall. After all, there was a new miniquest coming up that she was planning on completing the first day. It wasn't a major update, but there couldn't always be major updates. All it would be was another notch on her completionist belt. She was so close, she could almost taste it.

She almost tasted the door as well, nearly slamming face-first into it while her mind wandered elsewhere. Luckily she halted just before she hit it, pushing open the door and pretending that was all according to plan. She tried to will the blush forming on her face down as she went outside to look for Hanayo.

She wasn't sure what to look for. Hanayo hadn't told her what kind of car her roommate drove, and there were quite a few vehicles - and people - around. None of them were Hanayo, though. Maki looked around the area, trying to find any indication that Hanayo was there. This would be so much easier if Hanayo would just get a cellphone...

"Maki?" Whirling around, Maki found herself being sized up by a shorter, ashen-haired girl. She had no idea who this girl was, but reacting to her name being called accidentally revealed who she was. The girl clapped her hands and smiled. "I thought so. You look exactly like Hanayo-chan described."

"Hanayo?" That got Maki's attention. If this person knew who Hanayo was, then they had to be the roommate that had driven her here. Since she didn't have bright orange hair, that meant she had to be... "You're... Kotori?"

"Mm!" She clapped again, bowing her head slightly. "Minami Kotori, at your service." Giggling, she stuck her tongue out slightly and pointed to a car that was parked right behind her. Maki had seen that car, but there hadn't seemed to be anybody in it. As if she could read her mind, Kotori chipped in just as Maki finished thinking that thought. "Don't worry: Hanayo-chan's in there! She's just hiding under the seats."

"Oh." Maki wasn't sure what to say about that. Was Hanayo as nervous as she was about this? That was somewhat comforting, actually. Not that it made her any less nervous, but it was something. "So, should we...?"

"Of course!" Kotori kept on smiling as she led Maki to the car, pulling open the driver's side door. Maki didn't know which side to enter from, though. She didn't want to accidentally try to take Hanayo's seat or anything. So she peered into the window and saw a familiar form trying to hide herself beneath the seats.

"Cute..." Maki muttered to herself, steeling herself to actually talk to Hanayo in person for the first time. She opened the door and poked her head in, putting on her best 'non-serial killer smile'. "Is this seat taken?" Was that lame or secretly clever? She hadn't thought to research that before saying it.

Hanayo looked up at Maki with wide eyes, a blush forming on her cheeks as she scrambled up to sit on the opposite seat. "N-No! It's empty." This would be funny if she wasn't so nervous herself. Maki just nodded and sat down, acutely aware of Kotori giggling from the front seat.

The beginning of the drive was quiet, with both girls being too shy to even look at each other, except for the occasional sneaked glances. It was up to Kotori to break the ice. "So, Maki, how was your flight?"

"It was alright. Kinda just flew by." For some reason, that response drew another laugh from Kotori, though Maki didn't feel comfortable asking why what she said was funny. Instead they lapsed back into silence, but that wasn't going to deter Kotori.

"Hey Hanayo-chan, didn't you catch a new item in that m and o game of yours?" Instantly, Hanayo tensed up, glaring at Kotori with possibly the most adorable angry face imaginable. Kotori could only smile to herself after she glanced back at Hanayo's expression. That would do the trick.

"K-Kotori-chan, you know that you don't 'catch' items! You acquire them, and it's MMO!"

"Does... Does she not know what an MMO is?" Maki leaned over and whispered to Hanayo, trying not to let Kotori be aware of what she was saying.

"N-No, she does. She's just being a... a..." Hanayo pouted up at Kotori, trying to come up with an appropriate descriptor. "A big meany!" Maki tried her hardest not to burst out laughing, stomping her foot down against the floor and faking a coughing fit. "O-Oh! Are you okay, Maki-chan?"

"Y-Yes, I'm f-fine." She faked another series of coughs until she was positive that she could keep herself under control. Then, after taking a deep breath, she was ready to keep going with the conversation. "A-Anyway, at least she's just teasing, right? My roommates actually have no idea what it is... Or they don't care," she added, thinking bitterly about Nico.

"Y-Yeah, I remember! You said they called it Moonrise, right?" Hanayo shook her head with a quiet 'tsk tsk'. "It's, it's... disgraceful."

"Disgusting," Maki agreed.

"Despicable," Kotori chimed in, smiling to herself as Maki and Hanayo began to talk about SunFall. All according to plan.

* * *

Maki wasn't sure why she expected something different than what she walked into. Maybe it was because she coming to a slightly new place, but it was a university just like hers, so really she shouldn't have been surprised when Hanayo's dorm looked pretty similar.

As soon as Kotori closed the front door, one of the dorm doors opened and out popped another girl, who turned to the three with excitement in her eyes. "You're back! And you brought the nerd!"

"Hah?" Maki barely had time to react before the ginger girl was upon her, invading her personal space. "H-Hey, what are you doing?!"

"I'm hugging you, duh." She laughed, giving Maki a funny look. "You _have_ been hugged before, right?"

"O-Of course I have!" She started to turn red as she huffed and turned to face the wall, no longer attempting to struggle out of the hug. Sure she had gotten a hug before. Plenty of hugs, in fact! ... From her parents. That counted, right? They were hugs, after all. Human arms had indeed been wrapped around her torso.

"H-Honoka-chan, p-please let go," Hanayo pleaded, looking incredibly awkward watching the two of them. It was Kotori who once again stepped in to right the ship.

"Honoka-chan, please let go of our guest." Her smile turned into a strange grin. "Unless you'd like to wear the school uniform again." Honoka paled instantly, letting go of Maki and bouncing back.

"Ahaha, of course, of course! S-Sorry Maki-chan!"

"A school uniform?" As much as she was pleased to get her space back, Maki didn't understand what was so bad about a uniform. "Didn't you have to wear one in high school?"

"It's not the uniform. It's what I have to do in it." With that, Honoka ran back into her room, glancing back fearfully one more time before slamming her door shut. Kotori giggled behind Maki, drawing her attention.

"Have fun, you two. Enjoy your LMMOP."

"I-It's MMO, Kotori-chan!" That just got another giggle from Kotori before she went to her own room, leaving Maki and Hanayo alone in the living room.

"Uh... What did she mean by what she has to do in the uniform?"

"I-I'm not sure I want to know." Hanayo squirmed awkwardly, looking at Maki. "Sh-Should we go to my room?" Maki merely nodded, and the two of them headed for Hanayo's room. As they walked in Maki wondered if she was being too stoic and impersonal. Maybe she needed to be more vocal.

Looking around, Maki noticed that Hanayo's room wasn't too dissimilar to hers either. It was a lot cleaner, though. On the wall was a poster for SunFall, while on a shelf was a very nice-looking replica of Hanayo's beast tamer character. "Your room looks nice." That wasn't the most inspiring of conversation starters, but at least she was trying.

"Th-Thank you." She really was a far cry from the silent and powerful beast tamer Maki had originally believed her to be, but she didn't mind at all. Hanayo was too cute for words, and being in the presence of her made Maki's heart beat faster. This crush was going to be the death of her.

She noticed Hanayo's headphones laying on her desk, those flimsy-looking white earbuds that she could never approve of. "You really do need new headphones, Hanayo."

"Y-You've said that before." Hanayo giggled softly, picking up the headphones and holding them carefully. "They've served me well for this long."

"I'm still gonna have to get you some real gaming headphones." She looked around the room again, then turned to Hanayo with a small smile. "It was really nice of Kotori to allow me to spend the weekend here." Originally, she had planned to make reservations at a hotel, but according to Hanayo, Kotori had been insistent that she stay there instead.

"Yeah, I'm really glad you're gonna be staying here." Maki blushed at those words, but it made her heart warm up considerably. "I hope my bed is comfortable enough."

"Your bed?" She stared at Hanayo in confusion. "But where are you going to sleep?"

"The couch. You're my guest, Maki-chan. I want you to be comfortable here." Hanayo's smile was genuine, but Maki was frowning all the same. Sure, she was a guest, but she didn't want to intrude like that. It was Hanayo's bed, not hers.

"But it's your bed, Hanayo. I'm more than happy to sleep on the couch. Besides, I'm just happy to be here with you." That statement hit Hanayo first, as her face begin to burn up. It took Maki a moment, but when she saw how red Hanayo was, then realized what she had said, her own face began to play catch-up. It was at that moment that Kotori poked her head in.

"Ooh, and there hasn't even been a kiss yet." It was soft enough that it apparently only reached Maki's ears, and it caused her to blush harder if anything. She whipped around to stare wide-eyed at Kotori, who smiled at her. "You two don't need to fight over the sleeping arraignments. I already have that taken care of."

"You do?" Both Maki and Hanayo spoke at the same time.

"Mhm!" Kotori stepped into the room, holding a blanket in one hand and a pillow in the other. "You can both sleep in Hanayo-chan's bed."

"E-Eh?!"

"There's plenty of room, isn't there, Hanayo-chan?" That smile was definitely not innocent. Maki was sure of it.

"W-Well, m-maybe, b-b-but-"

"Perfect!" She tossed the pillow towards Maki, who, with all of her regality and grace, let it bounce off of her face and onto the ground. The blanket came next, landing perfectly on top of her and making her look like a very poorly-designed ghost. How mortifying. "I've heard it's going to be cold tonight, so be sure to bundle up. Have fun, you two!"

Maki yanked off the blanket as Kotori disappeared from view, but she was sure that there had been a devious grin on her face. Cold, she had said? Unlikely, since her face was hot enough now to warm a small farm.

"W-Well, w-w-we aren't going to bed yet," Hanayo reasoned, bending over to pick up the pillow and laying it carefully on the bed. Maki gulped and nodded, tossing the blanket on the bed as well.

"Y-Yeah, exactly." It was clear that they were both nervous, and while they eventually got back to hanging out like normal friends, the fact that they were to sleep in the same bed stayed on Maki's mind the whole time. _'Damn you, Kotori! ... Thank you, but damn you.'_


End file.
